Color and spectral imaging for cultural heritage applications Mobile researcher:Sony George, India

The main focus of the proposed project is to develop and evaluate novel imaging methods for cultural heritage applications, in particular for paintings. These methods will overcome the limitations of the existing techniques for color characterisation and accurate detailed analysis of the paintings. This project will develop a new imaging platform suitable for a number of applications; such as painting conservation treatment, damage analysis, high-fidelity reproduction, and documentation. Hyperspectral i maging and multispectral cameras will be employed, which records images in a wide range of wavelengths and permits to understand the various important color characteristics of museum paintings. Various data analysis tools will be employed to extract the u seful information for true reproduction and conservation of the paintings. Compared to other available techniques, spectral imaging using such cameras is believed to provide better accuracy and more flexibility, however in the study we will verify this assumption by image quality-based analysis including perceptual experiments and user studies. An important outcome of the project is a database of captured spectral images of paintings from the National museum. Such a digital database will facilitate th e documentation, conservation and reproduction of museum paintings in a more accurate way.